Mirage 4000, Dassault-Breguet

The twin-engined Mirage 4000 was developed by Dassault, presumably to
be used in a high/low mix with the Mirage 2000. It was virtually a
scaled-up Mirage 2000. The French air force showed no interest in this canarded delta. No
production.

Development
In September 1975, M Marcel Dassault announced that Dassault-Breguet would develop a one-third scaled-up
twin-turbofan powered version of the Mirage 2000 at their own expense. Originally called the Super Mirage
Delta and then the Super Mirage 4000, it was to be used mainly for interception and low-altitude penetration.
The prototype, No. 01/F-ZWRM, was unveiled in December 1977.

On its first flight, on 9 March 1979 at Istres, it reached Mach 1.2, piloted by Jean-Marie Saget. It reached
Mach 1.6 on its second flight and, on its sixth flight (on 11 April), it reached Mach 2.04 and flew at
angles of attack of up to 25° during a spin analysis. It performed that June at the Paris airshow. At the
end of 1980, the aircraft had about 100 flying hours. M53-5 engines were added by 1981, replacing the -P2s.
In 1982 it flew in interceptor and attack configurations at Farnborough.

Configuration
The Mirage 4000 made use of computer-derived aerodynamics, with a fly-by-wire active control system and a
rearward CG. It was designed to be easy to maintain on forward airfields. It also had variable-incidence
sweptback foreplanes and a blister-type cockpit canopy with a 360° FOV. Boron and carbon fiber composites
were used extensively in the fin, rudder, elevons, fuselage access panels, foreplanes, and other parts.
The wings had large-radius root fairings. The entire trailing edge of each wing was taken up by two-section
elevons. Variable camber was provided by automatic full-span leading-edge flaps. The rear fuselage was
shorter, which made Karman fairings unnecessary. The rudder, elevons, and flaps were actuated by the
fly-by-wire control system. The vertical fin was made of carbon composite and contained fuel tanks, which
helped to give the 4000 about three times as much internal fuel as the Mirage 2000 (other fuel tanks were
in the wings and fuselage). The fuselage was of conventional semi-monocoque structure. Door-type airbrakes
were located in each intake trunk above the wings' leading edges. The tricycle landing gear was designed by
Messier-Hispano-Bugatti and had twin nose wheels and a single wheel on each main unit. Each intake had a
moveable half-cone centerbody. The two M53s provided a thrust-to-weight ratio of above 1:1 - if it had
entered service, it would have been equivalent to the F-15 or the
Su-27.

When possible, systems and avionics were adapted from the Mirage 2000. The hydraulic system was made by
Messier-Hispano-Bugatti, and was pressurized to 280 bars (4,000 lb/sq in). It was powered by four
advanced pumps and used lightweight titanium pipelines. The Mirage 4000 also used two Auxilec electric
generators. In a compartment behind the pilot was a Turboméca Palouste gas turbine APU (to start the engines).
The prototype used the same RDM multi-mode Doppler radar as the Mirage 2000, but a radar as big as 80 cm
(31.5 in) in diameter could fit in the very large nose radome. Other avionics included a digital autopilot,
multi-mode displays, a SAGEM Uliss 52 INS, a Crouzet Type 80 air data computer, a Thomson-CSF VE-130 HUD,
and a digital automated weapon delivery system.

Sales
By the time that the mock-up was displayed, Saudi Arabia had been funding development, and by 1980, Defence
Minister Prince Sultan Ubn Abdul Aziz said that they were considering acquiring them. France's defence
committee ruled that 50 Mirage 4000s should be acquired to replace the Mirage IV. However, no orders
materialized, mainly because of its high cost (and because the Mirage 2000 was a better value). In 1986,
Dassault re-activated the Mirage 4000 (and renamed it 'Mirage 4000,' from 'Super Mirage 4000') and re-painted
it with desert camouflage on the upper surfaces. It was used as a chase plane and a testbed for the
Rafale program (researching the behaviour of a canard-delta configuration in
turbulence). It appeared at Paris in 1987. In 1995 it was transferred to Paris again as a permanent
exhibit outside the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.

At the end of 2005 the Indian Air Force (IAF) allegedly showed interest in this plane as their new Air Superiority Fighter.
Although India is satisfied with its arsenal of MiG-29 and Sukhoi-30, it wants an alternative to Russia-developed
aircraft in case there are problems in acquiring spare hardware.

Dassault-Breguet Mirage 4000 Specifications

Type

Multirole combat aircraft

Powerplant

Two 22,046 lb thrust SNECMA M53 afterburning turbofans

Accommodation

Pilot only, on a Martin-Baker F10R zero-zero ejection seat, under a starboard-opening transparent canopy (a two-seat version was under study)

Armament

Two 30-mm DEFA cannon in lower air intakes plus twelve hardpoints (six under fuselage, six underwing, and one centerline) allowing carriage of up to 8,000kg (17,620 lb) of stores including bombs, AAMs and ASMs such as Magics and Exocets, rocket pods, or a buddy refuelling pod. 2550 L (550 Imp gal) drop tanks could be located under each wing and on the centerline. The 4000 carried two fuel tanks, two Sycamor jamming pods, two Magic AAMs, a laser designator, two AS30Ls, two 1000kg LGBs, and a podded Antilope radar during the 1928 Farnborough airshow